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DeeS1 (Michigan)
Posts: 223
Posted:
Trying to get some opinions ..... ours is a small community with an operating budget under 20K. Historically, we were under the impression and also advised by our management company that we needed to have a yearly compilation review performed by an outside company. The going rate for this in our area is rough $1000-$1200 and represents a significant portion of our budget.

In reading the Michigan Condo act and our Bylaws, I'm curious if this level of formality is required. Both documents state that the "audit" doesn't need to be done by a CPA or certified. My impression is that both an actual "audit" and "review" MUST be preformed by a licensed CPA and certified.

So, if it is not required by the documents to be certified, could the term "audit" and "review" simply be meant to be referring to any "examination and/or evaluation" process done by an outside accountant of the year-end financial statement.

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Michigan Condo Act: The books, records, and contracts concerning the administration and operation of the condominium project shall be available for examination by any of the co-owners and their mortgagees at convenient times and all books and records shall be audited or reviewed by independent accountants annually. Such audits need not be certified.
Bylaws: The books of account shall be audited at least annually by qualified independent auditors; provided, however, that such auditors need not be certified public accountants nor does such audit need to be a certified audit. Any institutional holder of a first mortgage lien on any Unit in the Condominium shall be entitled to receive a copy of such annual audited financial statement within 90 days following the end of the Association's fiscal year upon request therefor.
BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535
Posted:
The question I have is, what determines whether or not an accountant is "qualified" and who makes that determination? It sounds too open to interpretation and subjective to me.

With a CPA, you theoretically should know what you are getting.
RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067
Posted:
Dee, there are three levels which you, the Condo Act, and your Bylaws are mixing. My thoughts are:
1) a compilation is the lowest financial level. Our company provides finacial compilation reports to all Board members monthly and yearly. If you have a management company handling your bookkeeping then the Treasurer, or any other Board member, or other member of the association, or a bookkeeper, or an accountant, can do this review of $20K. Approximate cost is from $0 to $500.
2) a financial review should be done by an accountant and includes a detailed review of the books. Approximate cost is from $500 -$1,000.
3) an audit is done by a CPA and includes a thorough detailed analysis. One example would be that they should be spot checking to see if the companies being paid really exist. Approximate cost is from $2,000 - $5,000 for a $20K budget. For large HOAs a REAL audit may cost over $10,000.

Many HOA inappropriately use the word audit when all that is done is a compilation or a financial review.

DeeS1 (Michigan)
Posts: 223
Posted:
Roger: I "think" I'm actually pretty clear on what the different levels are and their differences ... I'm not clear on what is "required" based on our documentation.

Our management company does provide monthly and year-end; however, I do not believe we can use this to fulfill the MI condo act requirement, as they are not considered "independent." The same would be true of any other Treasurer or board member.

We have always had a financial review done by a CPA, which runs $1000-$1200 in our area ...at least based on several competitive bids. I believe (but could be misunderstanding) accounting laws in Michigan require that only CPAs can conduct actual financial reviews and audits and use the term. Accountants can not technically provide these services.

So, it would seem to me to be impossible to have either a review or audit (in the technical sense) that were not certified or done by a CPA in our state, so I'm wondering if our Bylaws and/or MI condo act would allow something more like an independent compilation from an accountant.

The reason I ask is that we have a homeowner (not board member) who is a CPA and would like to save the HOA some money by volunteering this service; however, his firm does not believe we need to have a formal Review or Audit done to meet our current document requirements. He believes we would meet the requirements by having essentially an "independent" compilation done by his company.

I can not tell for sure based on the way the documents read (all the "need not be certified" comments for something that needs to be certified in our state), if this would be adequate. If it's in compliance with the Condo Act, we could certainly try to get the bylaws changed if necessary.

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